April 1, 2007

Evans, Ga.– Three South Carolina men’s golfers turned in season best performances, led by a second place individual finish by George Bryan IV, as the Gamecocks claimed fourth place as a team with a season best 861 at the Augusta State Invitational, held at the Champions Retreat Golf Club (Par 72).

Bryan, who set a Champions Retreat course record with a 66 (-6) in the opening round Friday, finished with a career best 210 (-6), improving by one stroke his 211 performance at the Hootie at the Bulls Bay Intercollegiate that earned him the SEC Male Golfer of the Week award last week. The second place finish is a career best performance by the freshman from Chapin, S.C.

The Gamecocks as a team improved with each round at the tournament, firing three-under par Sunday to claim fourth on the team leader board. Carolina finished with a season best 861 (-3), eight strokes behind tournament winner Coastal Carolina (853, -11). The score was the lowest for the Gamecocks since scoring an 858 and finishing second in the Hootie at the Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in March 2006.

Florian Fritsch was Carolina’s other top 15 finisher, shooting three-under par in Sunday’s final round to finish in a tie for 12^th. Fritsch, playing in his fourth tournament of the season, turned in a season best 215 to finish at one-under par.

Junior Warren Thomas was the third Gamecocks to turn in a season best performance this weekend, firing a 218 (+2) to tie for 31^st. After tying for a career-low 71 in the second round, Thomas fired six birdies on Sunday but hit a double-bogey on the fourth hole as he carded a 73 in the final round.

Patrick Cunning shot a one-under 71 Sunday and placed in a tie for 49^th with a 221 (+5) on the weekend while Allen Koon suffered two double-bogeys Sunday to share 70^th on the individual leader board with a 225 (+9).

The Gamecocks return to action April 14-15 when they participate in the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, played at the Ohio State University Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.

South Carolina Individuals (Through First Round)
T2, George Bryan IV, 66-72-72=210 (-6)
T12, Florian Fritsch, 75-71-69=215 (-1)
T31, Warren Thomas, 74-71-73=218 (+2)
T49, Patrick Cunning, 76-74-71=221 (+5)
T70, Allen Koon, 74-73-78=225 (+9)

Team Leader Board (Through First Round)
1 Coastal Carolina: 282-287-284=853 (-11)
2 North Carolina: 279-281-294=854 (-10)
3 Georgia State: 290-281-285=856 (-8)
4 South Carolina: 289-287-285=861 (-3)
5 Tennessee: 283-294-286=863 (-1)
6 East Tennessee St.: 293-293-278=864 (E)
T7 Augusta State: 297-290-282=869 (+5)
T7 North Florida: 291-293-285=869 (+5)
9 Virginia Tech: 295-291-286=872 (+8)
10 Clemson: 295-294-285=874 (+10)
T11 North Carolina State: 295-290-290=875 (+11)
T11 Houston: 300-289-286=875 (+11)
13 Virginia: 298-296-283=877 (+13)
14 Auburn: 298-291-289=878 (+14)
T15 South Carolina-Aiken: 293-293-295=881 (+17)
T15 Georgia Southern: 303-288-290=881 (+17)
17 Notre Dame: 294-300-290=884 (+20)
18 Minnesota: 296-296-295=887 (+23)